Thread: 7 shaves in and......NOW I'm torn to shreds?

Ryan, I began str8 shaving with a shavette b4 getting a cutthroat. Prior to that I have been DE shaving for about a year and a half. I am five days into shaving with the cutthroat and have attempted ATG for the past 2 days, with a little luck. Point being, its an acquired skill, just like with any other razor, whether a DE or a cartridge. My lower neck has always been my biggest challenge, as it is for most everyone. I had to learn with the DE that certain areas had to be shaved differently, I.E. ATG is more in a diagonal line rather than a true North to South direction. Less irritation with good results. With the Str8, I am learning that I get smoother results with saving the ATG pass for the last pass of the shave rather than the 2nd pass. Less whiskers means less resistance. Just hang in there and as so many have said, NO pressure is key! Good luck!

If any new guys (like me) are reading this, please study this site, ask questions, ask questions again, and again, and buy quality goods. You will not be sorry. The guys on this site are very patient and expert.

I tried to do it on the cheap (replaceable blade type straight razors) and was immediately sorry. I shaved but my experience up to this point was...shall I say...not satisfactory and a bit bloody. I am sure that there are people who do fine with it...but not me. They were scary sharp and not at all smooth. But when dull enough not to carve me up...they were poor shavers. I would replace the blade and start all over again. "SHUDDER". The razor burn was something to behold! But I was stubborn. I kept at it for three weeks.

I finally bought a quality razor and discovered what this site was all about...real...straight razor shaving.

I ordered my razor and it came shave ready...SHARP. But when I put blade to face it was smoother than anything I have ever felt. No pull, no razor burn. The only blood I had was when I sneezed with the blade against my skin (darn cat and not recommended). My fault...I know...my fault. Note to self...pull blade away from face when not actually shaving.

I finished with the best shave I ever had. I thought I would have to use my Mach 3 to finish. Nope...very smooth and no razor burn! With only one pass with the grain. It was...well...GREAT. I only had just the one cut on the point of my chin as described from above

Seriously...listen to the experts on this site, ask questions and you will love straight razor shaving like me. It is very luxurious and relaxing. Like getting a great massage.

Get a good razor, a good strop, brush and soap or cream. You will not be sorry. It makes all the difference in the world when it comes to shaving. It doesn't have to break the bank...prices are very reasonable if you look at the vendors here. You will not be sorry.

I am a huge fan of this site and the knowledge base that can be accessed.

Good luck and best regards,

Johan

Something to consider also is often times we think of shaving and doing something wrong and walking away with massive razor burn. Sometimes there can be something a little wrong with your technique or some more minor issue with the razor and you finish feeling fine and over several days things slowly get worse and the irritation becomes cumulative. Usually the culprit is minor skin damage which isn't allowed to heal and just increases day by day. The answer there is lay off a few days and then reassess what's going on.

Don't shave ATG. You will get great shave with just WTG AND XTG.
gl

I need to be careful here ... I know that I can bore for England on this subject

The thing is, a Shavette is a very different animal to a straight razor. Without getting bogged down in the technical stuff, a DE blade has a much more acute bevel than the typical straight (we're talking 9.5 degrees for a DE, 18 - 20 for most straights honed without tape ... whoops, off I go). Anyway, what it boils down to is that a DE blade experiences far less resistance, so it's a lot more likely to take a dive into your face unless it's held in a safety razor. That's downside no.1, and a worthy consideration in my opinion. Downside no.2 is that you're stuck with a factory sharpened edge, and nowadays these tend to pretty rough. (If ever I was feeling bored and felt like playing Shavette roulette, I'd make sure I'd loaded it with vintage ammo which tends to be a lot smoother). You can mitigate these effects somewhat by stropping the blade on your palm or running the edge into a cork, but whatever happens the Shavette is to be treated with the utmost respect, and ATG is asking for trouble.

The rough and ready nature of modern DE blades is why I took to using an open razor, but the DE razors still get the occasional look in. I almost never do any ATG with them, but with a straight - every day. It does help that I hone my own so I get the kind of edge which suits me, but offhand I can't think of any common razor hone which will produce as vicious an edge as the average DE blade.

So the short answer is: yes. I'm happy to tell you that a "proper" straight razor will undoubtedly give you an easier ride.